Will the iPhone 8 be unlocked with facial recognition?

But rumours are OK, because it means people are excited to see the next product. According to Apple’s annual schedule, the iPhone 8 will be released in a few months and Apple watchers are sharing their insights and predictions.

Of course, these are just rumours at this point.

The most notable – and generally most trustworthy – Apple analyst is Ming-Chi Kuo. He has released ten predictions ahead of the September release.

First up, Kuo believes that Apple will have three iPhone models on offer – a 4.7”, 5.2” & 5.5”, which will all offer 64GB and 256GB storage options.

Insights into sizing are fine n’ dandy, but what has people REALLY excited is the possibility that Apple’s iPhone 8 screen will be something special, and particularly futuristic.

Kuo predicts that the iPhone 8 will have the “highest screen-to-body ratio of any smartphone currently available worldwide”, and that the OLED screen will feature a virtual Home button but will not support fingerprint recognition. The fingerprint scanner won’t sit at the back, like the Google Pixel, but will be removed completely.

the full-screen design doesn’t work with existing capacitive fingerprint recognition,

the scan-through ability of the under-display fingerprint solution still has technical challenges, including: (i) requirement for a more complex panel pixel design; (ii) disappointing scan-through of OLED panel despite it being thinner than LCD panel; and (iii) weakened scan-through performance due to overlayered panel module.

With the advanced facial mapping we have at hand (*sigh* Yes, Snapchat), it’s easy to understand why Apple would view facial recognition as a secure way to unlock personal devices. In saying this, nothing hinted at this at Apple’s WWDC keynote a few weeks ago. Apple won’t release half-baked facial recognition access to iPhones, so even if we skip this feature in September it’s still conceivable that future iPhone models will make use of this tech.